The US Coast Guard has said the priority of their investigation into the disappearance, and "catastrophic implosion", of the Titan sub is now the "recovery of items from the sea floor", in the conclusion of its search for the missing Titanic submersible.
Speaking to the media on Sunday, June 25, Captain Jason Neubauer, chief investigator with the US Coast Guard said that the "priority of the investigation is to recover items from the sea floor."
He went on to say: "The salvage operations are ongoing... the resources are on site and capable of recovering the debris."
Rear Admiral John Mauger, of the First Coast Guard District, confirmed that the Coast Guard has launched a Marine Board of Investigation (MBI) into "the loss of the submersible and the five people on board".
He explained the MBI will look into what happened and gather testimony from witnesses. Rear Admiral Mauger added: "The MBI is also responsible for accountability aspects of the incident and it can make recommendations to the proper authorities to pursue civil or criminal sanctions as necessary."
The OceanGate Titan lost contact with its mother ship after a dive down to the wreck of the Titanic off the coast of Newfoundland, Canada. On Thursday, June 22, the Coast Guard said a debris field had been found just 400m from the wreck of the Titanic, which lies 3,800m below the ocean's surface.
The debris was confirmed to be from the missing submersible, with the Coast Guard saying it had suffered a "catastrophic i", killing the five on board within milliseconds. Those on board have been identified as Hamish Harding, father and son Shahzada and Suleman Dawood, Paul-Henri Nargeolet and OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush.
US officials have said they are "not sure" if they will ever recover the bodies of the five who died deep in the Atlantic, due to the extreme conditions at that depth.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) have also said they will be investigating the circumstances of the deaths of the five on board, according to Superintendent Kent Osmond.
Speaking at a press conference in St John's, Newfoundland, on Saturday, June 24, he said: "Today, the RCMP initiated an examination of the circumstances that led to the deaths of the five individuals on board the submersible.
"A team of investigators has been established with the sole purpose of answering the question of whether or not a full investigation by the RCMP is warranted.
"Such an investigation will proceed only if our examination of the circumstances indicate criminal, federal or provincial laws may possibly have been broken.
"Following the US Coast Guard's announcement earlier this week that debris from the submersible was located and all five on board were presumed dead, we will now look at the circumstances that led to those deaths.
"Our investigators are engaged and active in this matter as of this morning. Once a determination has been made as to whether or not a full investigation will be launched, we will provide an update at that time."
